New York Latin trio DLG returns, with new singer

By Leila Cobo

MIAMI (Billboard) - In 1996, Grammy Award-winning producer Sergio George, riding high on the success of Marc Anthony, came up with a novel concept for a pop/tropical group: two singers and a rapper, all Dominicans and Puerto Ricans from New York. Their name? DLG, an abbreviation for Dark Latin Groove.

"I thought there was a void of dark-skinned Latinos doing music," says George, who is a black Hispanic. "So, I made a group with three ugly black dudes," he says with a laugh.

The idea was groundbreaking. At the time there was no reggaeton, no "hurban" stations, no Latino-focused television channels like mun2 or MTV Tr3s and virtually no concept at all of Latin hip-hop or rap.

George took his trio to Sony, which -- after George turned down requests to get rid of the rapper -- released DLG's debut album, "Dark Latin Groove."

"A lot of the reason it was successful, aside from the sound, was the look," George says. "People weren't expecting something to look like that in commercial radio. Three black dudes doing mellow pop/urban music."

But after releasing three albums, original members James DaBarba, Fragancia and Huey Dunbar split up, with singer Dunbar pursuing a solo career.

George retained the rights to the DLG name, waiting for the right time to relaunch his band.

Now, eight years since its last album, DLG will release "Renacer" April 15 on La Calle/Univision Records.

With a twist.

After Dunbar retired from music, George scouted for a singer, preferably female, to avoid comparisons with Dunbar. In 2007, via MySpace, he encountered a sultry vocalist called Miss Ya Ya. Now, the makeup of the new DLG resembles that of the soon-to-be-released D.E.Y., whose singer is also female.

Unlike D.E.Y., however, DLG will not sing in English, even though all its members were born and raised in the United States.

"Because Latin radio won't play it," George says. "And we're a Latin label."

Radio is playing first single "Quiero Decirte Que Te Amo," a cover of a track originally recorded by Laura Pausini.

"It's definitely a tropical product," La Calle managing director George Zamora says of the album and the song.

He adds that a more urban mix with reggae elements will be delivered to urban radio stations.

Zamora, who signed the original DLG when he was head of Sony Discos, has high hopes for the new version, reborn at a time when tropical music is making a comeback, and when it's common to have black dudes singing Latin fare.

Reuters/Billboard